Group leader Blue Tie, “Turkish Quandal Dingle,” Tomato Boy and White Shirt Guy were just “showing how it’s done at Jillian’s sweet 16,” according to the caption of a video posted by the event company Island Entertainment in early March. The account posted a video featuring a group of teenage boys belting the lyrics to “Carnival” by Kanye West, making silly gestures and accumulating 56.2 million views and 7.4 million likes. Now that the group has gone viral, the internet has been formulating different angles of the group’s social dynamic and there are mixed opinions on the friend group’s hierarchy, creating deeply rooted lore. .  

Although I’m no teenage boy, this honorable tale of nobles, scribes and the petty peasantry has captured my attention — and apparently the attention of Wake Forest students. 

The internet wants to know who the real king of the party is and who merely tends to the sheep in the village. It all went down, dear readers, at the TikTok Rizz party (T.T.R.P).

Over 260 users on the Anonymous social app Fizz are calling for the frats to throw a TikTok themed Rizz Party. More than that, I’m interested in people’s desire to place, orient and define a group of boys’ social rankings.

In an effort to help myself understand the phenomena the T.T.R.P a bit better, I reached out to my best friend’s younger brother — a tried and true TikTok aficionado, but perhaps more importantly, a high schooler — who sent me a slew of TikTok Rizz Party analyses. The most compelling of which was this video posted by TikTok user “lucaiszesty,” laying out the group dynamic hierarchy in an easily digestible triangle — much like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. 

Apparently, the TikTok Rizz Party lore runs deep.

Blue Tie, who stands in the front of the viral video, carries the weight of the world on his shoulders by guiding the group across the treacherous waters of the highschool social scene. He displays the highest levels of confidence and the other members look to him for assurance.

Second in command is White Shirt Guy, who has agency over the other group members and displays the greatest physical dominance. He chooses to pose as a pillar of support for Blue Tie. The internet speculates that they have been friends since early childhood given the effortless dynamic between them. 

Tomato Boy is a tertiary member of the group who, according to observers, wants to overthrow Blue Tie’s supremacy, but consistently fails due to issues of insecurity. 

Last, but not least: “Turkish Quandale Dingle.” Dingle, derived from a meme of a guy of the same name that went viral roughly two years ago, has appealed to the masses as super funny and silly to laugh at. People have taken to Dingle due to speculation that he could usurp Blue Tie. And maybe he could.

The boys have embraced their fame. Sebastian, the kid behind the blue tie, under his Tik Tok handle “Seby_261” has posted various videos capitalizing on the trend. As internet users have begun shipping Blue Tie and Dingle, Sebastian has clapped back with various parody responses.

The way people mull over the slews of T.T.R.P analysis on TikTok reminds me of the way Wake Forest students obsess over Greek Life on Fizz. It seems to be some kind of collective projection that people have about their own group dynamics, or perhaps lack thereof. Perhaps because they enjoy involving themselves in external analysis of group dynamics. This allows for the processing and compartmentalization of the interactions that constitute their daily life and their ability to interpret the world.